Bringing Blue Zones to work

More than 60 Iowa companies have been designated Blue Zones Worksites that actively promote activities such as biking to work or a tobacco-free workplace to create healthier work environments.

The program is part of the Iowa Healthiest State initiative, a five-year effort to make Iowa the top-ranked state for health by 2016.

Hundreds of workplaces across the state have also registered at www.bluezonesproject.com to access the program’s resources, said Courtney Greene, a spokeswoman for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a co-sponsor of the Iowa Healthiest State initiative. “Even if a work site is not interested in reaching formal designation as a Blue Zones Worksite,” Greene said, “these are valuable, evidence-based ideas that will help a work site make one or two small changes that could lead to significant improvements in their employees’ well-being.”